Are you planning a vacation? Are you wondering how to keep the kids amused on a long car trip? Stop by the Youth Services department and let us help. Our “Book a Trip” is one of the many services we offer to provide you a great library experience.

I'm on page 31 of "The Goldfinch." Only 753 pages to go until the meeting of the library's fiction book group in November. That translates to a solid three months to complete my journey into the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that's received more than its share of attention.

This year marks the 11th year we are hosting the Princeton Student Film and Video Festival, on July 16 and July 17, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A visual smorgasbord of sights, sounds, music and motion, this curated film buffet has a mix of genres and themes. We promise two evenings of unique, entertaining and thought provoking movies, offered by 19 youthful filmmakers.

Your beach bag might be filled with books to carry you through the summer, but it's never too early to start thinking about what you'd like to read for the fall. Many of us at the library recently attended the annual Book Expo America conference, where we learned about the great books publishing in the months to come and which titles are receiving the biggest chatter within the book industry. Here are a few buzz-worthy titles coming out in September that you might like to add to your reading list.

For the past few weeks someone (or maybe more than one person) has been leaving shells on the library shelves. The shells are beautiful, as you can see from the picture of just some of them, and quite clean. These "gifts" raise many questions. Who is doing this? Why would someone come into the library mutiple times and leave these for other people to find? Is there any significance to the placement of the shells?

As a public library lover and employee, I am all about borrowing materials for free and returning them (in a timely fashion) to my local library. Of course, there are other ways to get your hands on a good book, and the Little Free Library movement is a fantastic way to share your fondness for books and reading.

Now that school has ended, there is finally time to make your summer travel plans and take a well-deserved break. Thankfully, there are apps to aid you in all your traveling endeavors whether you need help with packing, learning key phrases in a country's native language or finding the closest free Wifi location or grocery store. Below you will find a list with a few of my favorite apps to assist your summer travels, all of which are available on iPhone or Android.

The summer tech series kicks off with Capturing Campus, starting with a guided walking tour of Princeton University to take pictures of some especially photogenic sites. Back at the library, we'll gather in the Tech Center to learn how to move digital images from devices to iMac computers. We will also practice simple editing and photo sharing techniques.

June is the gateway to the summer season-- a busy month of milestones and activities. Getting ready to travel? Looking for something to read or listen to on your commute or while you work out? Or do you just want to keep your mind occupied while you garden, walk the dog, or clean the house? This month we encourage you to discover our handpicked collections of e-books and audiobooks on OverDrive and help the library get more good reads /good listens at the same time by helping us win a contest.

Summer may have had its unofficial kickoff a couple of weeks ago, but this season doesn't truly come into its glory in Princeton until best-selling author Jennifer Weiner comes to town. Jennifer's annual visit is always an incredible treat, as she entertains, enthralls, and has us laughing until our stomachs hurt. This year, we're kicking things up a notch and hosting Jennifer at our Book Lovers Luncheon on Thursday, June 19th at 12 p.m. at The Nassau Club. Tickets are still available. Won't you please join us?